August 24, 2022
Out of all the hobbies incoming freshmen expect to take up while living on a college campus, gardening is probably not a first thought.
Dorm rooms are modest in size, so adding a pot of spillable dirt may be a deterrent for most beginner gardeners. Eastern Michigan University is host to many clubs that present opportunities to learn skills that stick with people for life, and Dan Ruffling, president of the Botany club wants gardening to be one of those habits.
“Even if they don’t come back as a master gardener, I want them to come back enjoying the prospect of gardening so that when they go out in 10-15 years and buy a house, they want to have a garden,” said Dan.
Dan and the other club board members plan to provide useful training for basic plant care, like propagation which Dan describes as the process of cutting off pieces from a plant and planting them to grow roots. They also plan to demonstrate how to plant seeds and tend to them. Members will be able to put these skills to work at EMU’s impressive greenhouse host to hundreds of tropical and indoor plants, formally named Terrestrial and Aquatic Research Facility. The greenhouse has open hours to all EMU students Monday-Friday 8-3 p.m. Simon Outlaw, the Botany Club’s treasurer, detailed his favorite moment from his two years in the club as walking into the greenhouse for the first time.
“It’s very jaw dropping. You walk in there and are completely surrounded by plants” said Simon.
Simon commutes to EMU and expresses the convenience of having a built-in friend from the Botany Club in his classes or seeing their face on campus. There is no class or major requirement to join, all that is required is an appreciation for plants.
“It’s a great place where people who have never gardened before can come here, learn how to garden, get their hands dirty and actually do work that benefits the community,” Dan said.
Dan has been president of the Botany Club only since January of this year but has already made a mark on its future. The club has recently acquired an outdoor space on campus that doubles their current gardening space and includes a water reservoir, four large 8 X 10 plots and twelve 6 X 6 plots all covered in vine weeds. The Botany Club plans to introduce their members to this new-to-them project, and the legacy they are carrying.
This space is accurately named the Giving Gardens, after its charitable nature to both EMU community members as well as respect for the environment. It was led by Chrissy Wysocki through and past her graduation from EMU in 2020 until this year so the garden did not fade away to the pandemic defunking many organizations. The greenhouse manager, Brad, connected Chrissy and Dan to sort out how the Botany Club could absorb the Giving Garden.
The 12 smaller plots were rented out to EMU students and faculty, and then offered to the Ypsilanti community if there were extra. There was a small rent fee of $5-10 that Dan has future plans of waiving because of the new helping hands from the club. While the Botany Club members plan to tend to prepare the plots, once it is rented it is the responsibility of the renter to upkeep the plants, and the gardens make it easy with water and watering cans available.
The 4 larger plots were host to tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and more that were harvested to be donated to Swoops Food Pantry who provides EMU students with food assistance. The Botany Club members will be able to apply their knowledge to these harvests as they will now be tended to completely by the members. The club meets biweekly on Mondays with open hours outside of scheduled meetings to volunteer time at both the Giving Garden and the greenhouse.
The Giving Garden’s page on Eastern Michigan’s website describes its 5 guiding principles; sustainability, organic agriculture, community and place, education and respect.
“The whole principle of a community garden really encompasses all of the 5 principles… like eventually the vegetables that grow, even if they are just pulling weeds, are going to be donated and help somebody in need. That promotes that feeling of community and gives respect for people who are growing and helping others” Dan said.
The Botany club’s first meeting was held on Monday, September 12 with a record number of members attending. “There were like a bajillion people there, super sweet! We probably had like 70 people show up” said Dan.
The club has plans to make the Giving Gardens ready for use by Spring 2023 to continue renting out plots and create even larger harvests for Swoops Pantry. You can email botany@emich.edu to sign up for their email list for upcoming events like plant sales and club meetings.
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